


Not Exactly Athletic

by Abradystrix



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 17:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19977700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abradystrix/pseuds/Abradystrix
Summary: The trio explore different coping mechanisms after the war, with varying levels of success.





	Not Exactly Athletic

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to @boundingheart and @torestoreamends for helping me wrangle this drabble after years of inactivity.
> 
> Dreamt of in many sweaty yoga classes over the years.

_1999, Diagon Alley, The Leaky Cauldron_

"I still can't believe she convinced Ginny to go," said Harry, chuckling as he reached for his Butterbeer.

"Yeah, well, she's got one of her bloody heads on about it. Her mum sent her this article last week and it's all about the science and the research. I did try to point out that she's maybe not... Well, not exactly..." Ron's words faltered as he tried in vain to find an inoffensive way to express himself.

"Sporty?" Harry supplied, enjoying the rare silence. "Athletic?"

"Don't get me wrong, she's fantastic - you know she's fantastic..."

"Hopefully not in the same way that you know," Harry added hastily.

"Right, of course. But you get what I mean yeah? But honestly mate, she's been quite excited and I still worry about her, the nightmares haven't stopped. Not for either of us, but I don't think she realises. I'm just not sure this yogal thing is the answer?"

"Yoga."

"Same thing."

"Fair enough. But really, I am stunned that she got Ginny to go with her. She's usually so cagey about Muggle stuff. I don't think she was looking forward to it."

"She loves her though. It's mate stuff isn't it? They're closer than I realised," admitted Ron. "Bit weird actually. You don't think they talk about...?" His sentence hung, open-ended. Harry balked.

"I bloody hope not," replied Harry, feeling hot under the collar and avoiding his friend's gaze. They sat in awkward silence for a moment, listening to the chatter of the crowd at the Leaky Cauldron.

"And it really is just stretching?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"Uh, yeah. Pretty much. My aunt had a video. Not that she ever did it. I think it was for Dudley's summer of fasting." He didn't have long to dwell on the thought of Dudley’s abortive yoga career, as the door to the pub swung open and Ginny and Hermione walked in.

The contrast was striking. Ginny was positively glowing as she sat down next to Harry, and offered him a lingering kiss after a cheery 'hello'. He would have had trouble focussing on anything after that kiss, had it not been for the sight of Hermione's mutinous expression. She sat down stiffly next to Ron, whose eyes widened in panic at the waves of irritation radiating from her. He caught Harry's eye, as if to ask 'what did I do?'. Harry shrugged imperceptibly and looked to Ginny. Hermione glared off into the distance.

Sensing Ron's panic, Harry decided to break the silence, in a fit of chivalry that he felt Gryffindor himself would have appreciated.'How was it?' He ventured, as Ginny flagged down the waiter for two more Butterbeers. 

Hermione's reply was instantaneous. 

'Fine.'

'Righto.' He looked to Ron apologetically, and watched his friend gird himself for further enquiry.

'Er... did you... stretch well?'

'Am I incapable of stretching now, Ron?' Hermione hissed, her cheeks reddening.

'No! No, of course not...' Harry felt it was a sign of emotional growth that, rather than rise to this bait, Ron continued in his attempt to mollify the situation. He watched in astonishment as Hermione softened, even allowing Ron to touch her shoulder gently. 

'You did great!' Ginny said, pushing a fresh bottle of Butterbeer towards her. Hermione seemed to consider a retort, but opted instead to take a sip of her drink. Harry wondered if, after everything, some romance had done both of his friends a lot of good in terms of their quick tempers. They sat in a relatively companionable silence for a moment before Hermione burst into speech, hands drumming on the table.

'It was _bloody_ Divination all over again,' she spat. 'Breathing, focus, chakras... nonsense. Actual nonsense. What was my mother thinking? I think Australia addled her brains more than a Memory Charm ever could. Absolute balderdash, we had to chant together at the end like some kind of _cult_ and going by the flexibility of the instructor, she had taken some kind of apposite Skele-Gro because there is no way on this earth that bodies were made to contort that way, _certainly_ not for relaxation or health benefits...'

Harry felt Ginny suppressing a giggle.

'... so in the end we just lay there on our backs for ten minutes, visualising some meadow or other while she rang a bell and honestly, it was almost as bad as Trelawney. I can't say I feel anything other than irritation at having WASTED a perfectly good evening.'

Ron opened his mouth as though to speak, and thought better of it, opting instead to take Hermione's hand. Harry had to admit, Ron was dealing with a very emotional Hermione in a way that put his 'Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches' to shame. That said, 'travel to Australia to support your girlfriend finding her family and restoring their memories' probably wasn't in there either, so perhaps Ron had now transcended the book entirely.

'And you!' she turned her attention to Ginny in a mix of astonishment and slight irritation, pointing vaguely with her bottle. 'You enjoyed it! You traitor!'

'I mean... it was better than I thought!' said Ginny, defensively. 'I liked the stretching! And it was nice to just kick back for a bit, don't you think? The headstand was fun too, like a Muggle _levicorpus_.'

'Well you could do it!' Hermione retorted, her indignation deflating into a frustrated sadness. 'You could do the... the weird stretches and the balancing. You're good at that stuff. I... I'm not.' Her eyes cast downwards. Harry tried not to smile - he couldn't believe that Hermione Granger, cleverest witch of her age, and one of the saviours of the wizarding world, would ever feel at all less than, particularly over something as basic as exercise. He could see Ron thinking the same thing as he bent his head down to talk gently to Hermione.

'Hermione... it's just yogal... yoga.' He said, patiently. 'It's not important. It was just an idea... your mum's just worried about you is all. And it's okay to not be good at stuff. Seriously, you should try it sometime. It's worked wonders for me. Look at my dashing good looks and puckish sense of fun!' He waggled his eyebrows, hoping to raise a smile from her.

Hermione let out a laugh, despite herself.

'You know there's heaps you're good at Ron,' she said softly, staring up at him, her cheeks positively scarlet as she stroked his hand with her thumb. Harry started to feel that he and Ginny might be intruding. However, as he shifted in his seat, Ron cleared his throat, and shook his head slightly as though to clear his ears. After a beat, Ron looked to them again, this time with an arm firmly round Hermione, who sighed and leaned back with her eyes closed for a moment.

'I might go back next week!' Ginny said, cheerily. 'Do you fancy it Harry?' 

'Er...'

'It's meant to improve flexibility loads, and I think it'd be great for... Quidditch...' she said, winking surreptitiously at him while Ron was looking the other way.

'Maybe,' he replied, a smile twisting his lips. Ron’s head whipped round and he eyed them suspiciously.

‘More drinks?’ Harry said, flagging down the waiter once more.

‘More drinks,’ agreed Ron, a note of resignation in his voice.


End file.
